Prawn toast

This is classic Chinese restaurant fare, and why not? These are delicious morsels — great as a small starter or as pass-around food if you want to add an Asian flavour to your cocktail party. Again, just normal crumbs will do if you can’t find the Japanese panko crumbs.

Ingredients

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) green king prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ knob of ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 egg white

1 teaspoon sesame oil

4 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped

5 slices stale white bread, crusts removed

1 egg, lightly beaten

60 g (2¼ oz/1 cup) Japanese breadcrumbs (panko)

Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Sweet and sour sauce, to serve

Method

Put the prawns, garlic, ginger, sugar, salt, egg white and sesame oil in a food processor and process until smooth. Put the mixture in a bowl and stir in the spring onions.

Spread about 2 tablespoons of the prawn mixture to the edges of each piece of bread and cut each in half diagonally. Brush the tops and sides of each piece with the beaten egg, then press into the breadcrumbs to coat.

Heat the oil in a wok or deep-fryer until smoking (180°C/350°F), and deep-fry the toasts in batches until golden on both sides, about 2 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towel. Serve hot with a sweet and sour dipping sauce.